Violin-case and method of making the same



(No Model.)

G. S. BON D. VIOLIN GASE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE $AME.

Patented Apr. 12, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

GEORGE S. BOND, OF OHARLESTOWN, NEY HAMPSHIRE.

VIOLIN-CASE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 361,123, dated April12, 1887.

Application filed September 28, 1886. Serial No. QHJSG. (No modll.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE S- Bonn, of Oharlestown, county of Sullivan,State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Violin-Gases andMethod of Making the Same, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relating to a violin-caseand method of making the same hasspecial reference to the production of the top of the case from a pieceof thin fiat board by molding the same to the desired shape or providingit with a bulge or concavity at the inside that receives the bridge ofthe violin. When a case-top of this kind is molded from an integralpiece of board by the usual process, the flat portion of the board nearthe bulge is stretched laterally, so as to produce an extra fullness,which causes it to pucker or become corrugated, and in some cases thispuckering or corrugation is obviated by removing a gore or wedge-shapedpiece from the blank before molding the same, the edges of thegore-opening being closed in the process of molding, and being gluedtogether.

The object of the present invention is to ob viate the falling orpuckering without removing a gore from the material, thus forming astronger top than the gored molded tops. This is effected in accordancewith this invention by producing a diagonal saw-cut in the end of theboard extending from the end of the board to about the point that is toform the crown. of the bulged portion, and then when the board is moldedthe portions at either side of the saw-cut overlap one another more thanin'the original blank, and the said saw-cut may be filled with glue,causing the portions at either side thereof to unite firmly, and, owingto the greater extent of surface, forming a much stronger joint thanwhen a gore is removed from the board and the sides of the gore-openingglued together. I

Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for a top of a violin-case embodyingthis invention; Fig. 2, an end View thereof; Fig. 3, a longitudinalsection of a finished top as it appears in the molding-dies orformers;-and Fig. 4, a transverse section thereof on linear m, Fig. 3.

The blank'or board a, Fig. 1, which is to be molded to proper shapei'orthe top of a vio lin-case, has a diagonal saw-cut (represented ata,Figs. 1 and 2) extending inward from its end to about the point that isto form the crown or highest part of the bulged portion a", Fig. 3, ofthe finished case. The saw-cut removes a small portion of the material,and at the same time renders it possible for the portions a* a at eitherside of the cut to be sprung or bent slightly toward or from oneanother. The inclination of the saw-cut to the faces of the board orblank is least at the end of the board, as shown in Fig. 3, andgradually increases toward the point-a that is to be raised into highestrelief, as will be understood from Fig. 1'. A cut of this kind may bemade by using a band-saw and applying the end of the board to the sawwith the board nearly parallel or but slightly inclined to the line ofaction of the saw, and then gradually turning the board on the line ofaction of the saw as an axis as the board is pressed against or fed tothe saw making about a quarter-turn of the board on its longitudinalaxis in the entire length of the saw-cut. The blank thus cut is steamedor moistened in the usual manner, to render it pliable, and is thenpressed in dies or molded to the proper shape in the usual manner. Theforcing up of the bulge a Fig. 3, tends to draw the edges a a of theblank toward one another, and this tendency extends to the part at theend of the blank that is to remain fiat, and,were it not for the saw-cuta, would cause the portions a a to full or become wrinkled or corrugatedlengthwise of the board. \Vhen, however, the board is cut as shown, thetendency of the edges a a to approach one another merely springs theportions a c toward one another, closing the space caused by the saw-cutand overlapping the said portions upon one another. The surfaces of theportions (0* a at either side of the saw-cut are then coated with glueor cement that unites them firmly with one another, and, owing to thefact that a large surface is acted upon by the glue, and that the grainof the two portions a a is slightly inclined, or that of the oneportionintersects that of the other, the joint is fully as strong or strongerthan the natural wood, thus making a more durable article than the goredtops heretofore made.

In another application, Serial No. 214,757,

filed herewith, September 28, 1886, I have described a method andappliances for making a case-top without cutting or removing any of thematerial, and in the said process I employ an elastic former which maybe employed with equal advantage in making a top in accord anee with theherein-described process, and I have shown such a former at c in Fig. 3,in connection with the dies, which are of usual construction, and I donot herein claim the said appliances.

I claim- 1. A molded top for a violin-ease or similar article made of aboard having a diagonal cut and a bulged or raised portion, the portionsof the board at either side of the said out being overlapped and gluedtogether, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. lhe herein-described process of making tops of violin-cases orsimilar articles, which consists in forming a blank of thin board andproviding the same with a diagonal saw-cut, the inclination of which tothe faces of the blank is greatest at the point of the blank that israised into highest relief and gradually decreases toward the point thatis not to be raised, and then molding the blank and uniting the materialat either side of the saw-cut by glue or cement, substantially asdescribed. In testimony whereofI have signed my name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE S. BOND. '\Vitnesses:

GEORGE OLCOTT, IIERBERT W. BOND.

